


Is That Mistletoe?

by PyreWrites



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28848309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyreWrites/pseuds/PyreWrites
Summary: Lena Luthor keeps encountering mistletoe in various spots around Kara's apartment. Not that she is complaining because each time she "happens" to find herself under it she gets a kiss from the girl she has been secretly* in love with for years.*it's not a secret
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Ruby Arias & Kara Danvers, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Kara Danvers, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 12
Kudos: 183





	Is That Mistletoe?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this beautiful picture](https://rhysjamesstudios.tumblr.com/post/638265995439587328/kara-danvers-is-thatmistletoe-id-like-to) and the accompanying headcanon by rhysjamesstudios on tumblr.

“Kara Danvers, is that … mistletoe?”

The surprise in Lena's voice was not due to the general existence of mistletoe in Kara's apartment. Lena was well aware that Kara utterly adored all aspects of the holiday season, starting on October first ramping up for Halloween all the way through Valentine's Day. Lena's surprise was two-fold. First was the fact that Kara hadn't even waited until the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner had made it into the fridge. Second was the fact that the sprig of mistletoe now hanging over her head had absolutely not been dangling from a length of ribbon above the refrigerator several seconds earlier when she had bent over to make room for the turkey on the bottom shelf.

Lena looked back down to be met with blue eyes she could stare into for the rest of her life. It took her a few seconds to focus on the rest of Kara's face and when she did she saw a light dusting of pink on her cheeks and a nervous grin on her lips.

“Guess I have no choice. Wouldn't want to end up on the naughty list for something so trivial as breaking Christmas law.” Lena tried not to sound too eager at the prospect of kissing Kara, but the stream of thoughts about the ways she _would_ like to end up on the naughty list involving the blonde beauty in front of her made that difficult at best. The way Kara's face lit up made things even harder.

Lena's breath caught as Kara started to lean in. Her eyes fluttered shut and she waited for the moment she had been thinking about for years. And then Kara's lips connected with her cheek, just grazing the corner of her mouth. For just a split second Lena's heart dropped realizing she had gotten her hopes up once again for nothing. But her flare of insecurity was quickly forgotten at the sound of gagging from across the room. Lena's eyes snapped open and she spotted Alex making faces at them. Without thinking Lena flipped her off, only remembering that Ruby had come to Thanksgiving dinner at the eruption of giggles a second later.

“I am _so_ thankful that my best friend is corrupting my poor innocent daughter at such an impressionable age,” Sam said as she walked up to the pair with plates of food headed for the fridge.

“Oh cut the shit Mom.” The now 17-year-old Ruby called from where she was standing next to her step-mother. “You and Alex have done more damage to my _'delicate sensibilities'_ than Aunt Lena ever could.”

Lena laughed at the mock scandalized face Sam made.

“Are you sure you can't stay?” Kara whispered over Lena's shoulder.

“I told you, darling, since this is just an American holiday I have to go in to work for a few hours tomorrow.” Lena turned to find the cutest puppy dog pout Kara could muster. “I have an overseas call early. And for someone who claims to be such a heavy sleeper you wake up when I as much as roll over. I am not going to wake you up at 4 AM on a holiday just because I have to go to work.”

Kara quivered her lip and whimpered. Lena nearly caved.

“But I will come straight here from the office as soon as I'm done,” Lena said, bringing a dazzling smile to Kara's face.

She heard a snorting laugh just before Alex stage whispered to Ruby, “Nothing straight about Lena coming over here.”

Ruby tried and failed to stifle another fit of giggles.

Kara skipped off to gather more food from the table as Alex brought a bowl of stuffing over, smirking at Lena knowing full well she had been heard.

“Tell that to your sister,” Lena whispered and smirked at the strangled choking noise Alex made.

* * *

As it turned out Lena didn't leave as soon as she was done with her call. She stalled doing a bit of work on a personal project until Noonan's opened a bit later than usual given the holiday weekend. And the look on Kara's face at the sight of Lena holding a dozen sticky buns and Kara's insanely over-sugared favorite coffee flavor of the week was entirely worth the wait.

Kara took the box and the coffees to set them on the kitchen island, Lena's eyes drifted up and found the mistletoe still hanging above the fridge. She chuckled as she shut the door and turned to hang up her jacket. She jumped when Kara cleared her throat right behind where she was standing.

“Yes?” Lena said as she finished hanging her jacket and her purse on a hook. When Kara didn't answer Lena finally turned around and found the blonde flicking her eyes from Lena's face to above her head and back repeatedly. Lena glanced up to find another sprig of mistletoe hanging from another length of ribbon directly above the coatrack. “That wasn't there last night.”

“Really? I guess there must be a Christmas elf sneaking in and hanging it.” Kara said with her best faux innocent look.

“Well as we established last night, I have no choice.” Lena leaned forward turning her head to the side giving Kara full access to her cheek. When Kara took Lena's chin in her hand, turned her face forward again, and placed a light peck directly on Lena's lips her brain short-circuited for several seconds.

“Are you coming?” Kara's voice effectively rebooted Lena's brain.

 _Not yet_ , floated across Lena's mind before she blinked and found herself standing alone by the coatrack. Kara was sitting on the couch with both coffees, the sticky buns, and two plates on the coffee table.

“The third Princess Switch movie dropped on Netflix at midnight and I've been waiting all morning for you to get here,” Kara said as she pulled up the first movie in the franchise. “And when we finish that marathon there are a bunch of other Christmas movies we can watch. The lead girl in A Princess for Christmas is really cute and looks familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen her before.”

“She was Morgana in Merlin and you gush about how pretty she is every time we watch even a single episode.” Lena rolled her eyes as she went to change into more comfortable clothes for a day snuggled on the couch with Kara.

“Almost as pretty as you,” Kara said softly as Lena disappeared into the bedroom.

* * *

Lena went nearly a week before encountering a new bit of mistletoe in Kara's apartment. Despite Lena being there every day Kara specifically invited her to come over and help her decorate on December 1st.

Not that Lena was complaining, but she was a touch wound up. Every time she found herself standing at the fridge she received a kiss on the cheek. Standing at the coat rack, a light peck on the lips. Lena was beginning to wonder what game Kara was playing, and getting a bit more sexually frustrated than usual with each passing hour.

Lena walked into Kara's apartment after work to the sight of what seemed to be dozens of boxes each labeled as different types of decorations stacked around the living room. She stepped over to the coat rack and waited for Kara to appear beside her. After collecting her quick peck of a kiss Lena turned to the room finally noticing the incredible aroma wafting through the air.

“Goodness. What smells so amazing?” Lena said as her mouth started to water.

“That is one of your Christmas presents. I just couldn't wait to give it to you.” Kara smiled. “I've been taking cooking classes. I made dinner for us!”

“That's wonderful, darling! If it tastes even half as good as it smells I can't wait to eat.” Lena pulled Kara into a tight hug. “I love my present.”

“Your _first_ present.” Kara corrected.

“My first present.” Lena smiled. “So how many more do I have to look forward to?”

“You'll just have to wait and see,” Kara smirked as she skipped into the kitchen.

Lena followed close behind and placed a quick kiss on Kara's cheek when she stopped for a moment in front of the fridge. Kara giggled and blushed slightly.

“That meal, Kara my dear, was _amazing_ ,” Lena said after they finished eating. “Everything tasted even better than it smelled.”

“Thank you.” Kara blushed under all the praise as they put their dishes in the sink. “I hope you don't mind that dessert is store-bought. We just started the baking section, so I should finally have a batch of edible Christmas cookies for once. But tiramisu is way more advanced than the class I'm taking.”

Lena made a noise that she would have been embarrassed about if it had been anyone but Kara in the room with her.

“I'll take that as a 'Yes, Kara, store-bought is just fine'. You can get it out of the fridge and I'll get plates.” Kara giggled. Then she dashed over and kissed Lena on the cheek as she opened the door.

“Kara. This label is in French.” Lena said as she picked the box up off the shelf.

“Is it?”

“Did you honestly fly all the way to Paris just to get tiramisu from Jean-Pierre's for me?”

“I might have.” Kara smiled. “There are some perks to being a superhero. Like being able to make a quick run to the other side of the planet to pick up a present for someone special.”

Lena felt her heart flutter as she watched Kara serve up their dessert. And then again as she turned back and found a new bit of mistletoe hanging from a strip of ribbon directly over the chair she always sat in when they ate at the table. She smiled to herself and went to sit down and wait for whatever Kara had planned.

“So is dessert my second present?” Lena asked over her shoulder.

“Maybe? Not quite? How about first and a half?” Kara said as she walked back to the table.

“Kara. You flew almost ten thousand miles roundtrip to bring me this tiramisu. I think that alone warrants it being a present by itself.” Lena grinned.

“You make a good point. Ok, yes this is your second present.” Kara said as she sat both plates down.

Lena made a point to glance up to let Kara know she had noticed the latest addition to Kara's little game. Kara just smiled at her. Then torturously slowly she leaned forward towards Lena. Pausing for just a moment when she was only an inch away to look into Lena's eyes before moving the last bit forward. Kara brought their lips together and there was nothing quick about it this time. This was the proper kiss Lena had been dreaming about for years (and the beginning of several other activities that had been at the forefront of Lena's mind nearly non-stop for a week). When they finally parted Lena found herself chasing Kara's lips.

“Dig in!” Kara chirped.

Lena blinked several times at the near-instantaneous shift. Once she focused she saw Kara smiling at her and realized just how stunning Kara looked wearing her bright red lipstick. It was a sight she wanted to see as often as possible.

* * *

It was a complete coincidence that Lena set up her laptop at her seat at the dinner table any time she needed to do work at Kara's apartment after that night. Or at least that is what she would tell anybody if they asked.

Which is exactly what Sam did at Family Movie Night the next week. Sam's car was in the shop so she just caught a ride to Kara's place with Lena after work. They were the first ones to arrive, even before Kara, so Lena let them in with her key. Sam headed for her usual seat to start unwinding from the day only to stop short when she sensed Lena was no longer next to her. She turned to find her opening her laptop at her seat at the dinner table.

“Ok, what's the deal?” Sam said.

“The deal with what?” Lena said, not looking up from her computer.

“Why are you there instead of on the couch at your usual spot?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I have been coming to these movie nights for years. And in all that time you have _always_ camped out on the couch doing work right up until Kara snuggles into your side when it's time to start the movie.”

“Have I?”

“Quit being a little shit. This wouldn't have anything to do with that mistletoe hanging over your head now would it?”

Lena was about to answer with another denial when the door swung open. Kara walked in with her arms loaded down with food. Enough food that she couldn't even see over the stack. Enough food to feed an army, or two humans and three Kryptonians.

“Oh! Sam, hi. Thought I'd get home first but there was a line at the pizza place.” Kara smiled as she walked over to the table after unloading in the kitchen. She bent down and kissed Lena, slow and long. “Hi, Lena. Now if you both don't mind I'm going to go change into something more comfy. I'm surprised you haven't already.”

“We've only been here about an elevator ride longer than you, darling.” Lena smiled up at her. “I'll get to it soon. Don't worry.”

Sam waited until Kara disappeared into the bedroom.

“So it _is_ the mistletoe.” Sam waggled her eyebrows.

“Fine. Yes, it is. The one by the fridge is a kiss on the cheek. The one by the coat rack is a quick peck. And this one is... _that_.” Lena said gesturing around the room. “I don't know what Kara's game is, but there is no way I am going to do anything to stop it. She is probably going to quit once Christmas is over and the decorations come down. So I am going to let the girl I have wanted to kiss since the day we met keep kissing me for as long as possible before she stops.”

Sam just shook her head and rolled her eyes. It had been years and it still hadn't clicked for Lena even before Sisters Movie Night had been rebranded (and especially after) to Family Movie Night, when she and Alex had gotten married and Ruby started coming, that Lena was the only person not legally part of the Danvers family that had been consistently invited. Heck, even Sam hadn't been invited until she and Alex had gotten really serious, and as it turned out after Alex had already bought the engagement ring.

“Yeah, ok,” Sam said and placed a light kiss on Lena's cheek. “Just hurry up. With food already here Kara is going to want to start the movie as soon as Alex and Ruby get here.”

“Fine. Just a couple more emails.” Lena shooed her away.

Sam watched as Lena 'checked her emails' right up until Kara came back out of the bedroom and gave her another kiss. Then Lena promptly closed her laptop and left to go change before taking her usual spot on the couch. Sam just smirked when Lena sat down.

“Shut up,” Lena whispered.

Sam just held up her hands.

“Hey Kara? Why is it that Alex and I have to try to fit into this chair while you and Lena get to take up the entire couch?” Sam called.

“When we do Movie Night at your house you get to take up an entire couch snuggling with your wife. When we do Movie Night at my place I get to…be comfortable.”

“And when we do movie night at our place we have three couches in our tv room. So you have plenty of space to…be comfortable too.” Sam smirked. “You do have enough room to put a second couch over here”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I do.” Kara said as she looked over her living room space. “I'll think about it.”

“Yeah. You give it a good long think.” Sam grinned as she shot Lena a look.

Before Lena could do more than narrow her eyes the front door swung open.

“It's movie time!” Ruby shouted as she literally jumped into the apartment.

Alex sighed. “Your daughter has been like this the entire ride over here. I think we should start monitoring her caffeine intake.”

“What? I can't be excited to spend time with my moms and my two favorite aunts?” Ruby said as she shot Kara a look.

“Considering most 17-year-olds would do literally anything to not spend time with their family? No, you can't be excited, and _definitely_ not that excited.” Alex grumbled.

Kara giggled and handed them each a pizza box as they headed for the living room. She then gathered up two more pizzas and three orders of potstickers, set them on the coffee table, and snuggled up into Lena's side.

Lena was too busy melting into Kara's embrace to notice Ruby staring at them and nearly vibrating out of her chair with excitement.

* * *

Lena considered it a bit of good luck that over the years she spent so much time at Kara's apartment that she had a more than functional wardrobe there. Especially after she effectively moved in for all of December. She was in such a state of domestic bliss that she even forgot she had her own apartment more than once as the days went on.

“Hey boss,” Sam said as she walked into Lena's office a few days after movie night. “Got a couple things for you to look over and a favor to ask.”

“No, you can't have a raise. I just gave you one for your birthday.” Lena grinned.

“It's not that, smart ass. I just wanted you to ask Kara if I left my blue sweater at her place on movie night.”

“I can take a look for it when I get home,” Lena said absently.

“You'll do what when you get where?” Sam smirked.

“I said I'll look for it when I get home.”

“Should I bring you a change of address form for your HR file and payroll?”

“What?”

“You just referred to Kara's apartment as 'home', _twice_.”

“No I didn't.”

“Hope?”

“Yes, Miss Arias-Danvers?” The AI responded.

“Can you repeat what Lena just said?” Sam grinned.

“Don't bother, Hope,” Lena grumbled. “I really never should have given you voice access to my AI.”

“Yes Miss Luthor. Do you want me to revoke Miss Arias-Danvers' access to my system?” Hope said in the same tone as she always did, but Sam was sure she could hear a smirk in the voice of the AI.

“No, Hope. Leave her access as is.” Lena sighed. “But you are supposed to be on my side.”

“I always am, Miss Luthor.”

“Suck up.” Sam chuckled. “But answer me this, Lee. When was the last time you were even at your apartment?”

“I...” Lena started but then realized she didn't know right away. It took her a few moments to think before she remembered she had gone home Thanksgiving night. Since she had left for work the next morning she hadn't been in her own apartment for more than a few minutes at a time, picking up a specific outfit or swapping a book she had finished for a few new ones. That was over two weeks ago.

“Yeah. You know this would be so much easier if you would just grow a spine and tell her how you feel already.”

Lena just shot her a look.

“Fine. But I'm not changing my mind just because you are a chicken.”

“I'm not chicken.”

“Whatever you say. Oh, are you and Kara coming to our place for dinner this weekend?”

“I'll ask her when I get home.”

Sam just smirked.

Lena flipped her off.

“Love you too. I need to get back to work before my boss notices I'm not at my desk. I'll see ya later, McNugget.”

“What the hell is a McNugget?”

“It's made of chicken.”

“Get the fuck out of here.” Lena rolled her eyes.

Lena could still hear Sam's laughter from well down the hall.

* * *

Cold showers aside, Lena was in heaven. Coming 'home' to Kara after work (hours earlier than when she would be going home to her own apartment) every night. Taking turns fixing incredible meals for each other every night. Falling asleep curled up with Kara every night. Waking up curled up with Kara every morning. Having proper breakfasts with Kara (instead of whatever granola bar or protein shake Lena grabbed on her way out the door) every morning. And of course the seemingly unending stream of kisses.

Lena could almost fool herself into feeling like it was the beginning of their relationship and they were simply taking things slowly for the time being. Especially when she was right on the edge of sleep when she had to stop herself from mumbling the words she had wanted to say for so long.

She was so caught up in the fantasy that she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when Kara gave her a kiss goodbye before she climbed out of Lena's car one morning in front of CatCo.

* * *

It was another week of domestic bliss before another piece of mistletoe appeared in Lena's life. She had been enjoying her new normal of getting to kiss Kara frequently that she had completely forgotten to keep an eye out for it.

They had finished another amazing meal Kara had made. And a dessert she had prepared that, under other circumstances, would be considered passable. But given Kara's history of baking completely inedible desserts (even with a Kryptonian stomach), Lena was heaping praise on her for her progress. It didn't hurt that Kara kept trying to get Lena to stop by kissing her, which only spurred Lena on to continue the compliments.

They had settled on the couch, tangled up in each other, to start watching some sitcom or another that Kara had been excited about since she saw it was going to show up on Netflix. Sometime in the third or fourth episode Lena extricated herself from Kara's arms, somewhat reluctantly, to get herself a glass of wine.

She didn't notice anything had changed when she made her way back to Kara's embrace. At first. It took Lena a little while to notice Kara wasn't laughing in time with the studio audience. When she glanced over she found Kara staring at her with a mischievous glint in her eye and fighting to keep a smile off her lips.

“What's got you so giddy all of a sudden?” Lena smirked. “The show isn't _that_ funny.”

Lena watched as Kara's eyes flicked down to her lips then upwards to above their heads then back to Lena's lips once again. She looked up and found more mistletoe slowly swaying above their heads.

“Well then. Wouldn't want to end up on Santa's naught-” Lena's quip was cut short as Kara's lips crashed into her own.

Lena had no idea how to react to this. Her instinct was to just let it happen and move as little as possible. Right up until Kara wrapped a hand around the back of Lena's neck. Lena gasped in surprise at the move and Kara used the opportunity to slip her tongue into Lena's mouth. Without thinking Lena's hand landed on Kara's hip and pulled her closer. The shock Lena felt when Kara moaned nearly made her pull back. Fortunately, the desire to get Kara to make that sound again won out.

Lena didn't know how long they had been making out when Kara pulled away, but she did know two things. First, the 'do you want to keep watching?' message from Netflix was on the tv screen. And second, the battle to _not_ start grinding against her best friend for the entire time they had been kissing had nearly destroyed her sanity. But even that wasn't enough to keep her from starting to lean back in.

“Ready to open another present?” Kara smiled at her before Lena could reconnect their lips.

“What?” Lena shook her head trying to get even the slightest amount of blood back to her brain in hopes of being able to comprehend even the slightest bit of reality beyond Kara's lips and any part of their bodies that were currently pressed together. “Oh, uh, yeah I guess.”

_Eloquent Luthor. Real fucking eloquent._

Lena held absolutely still as Kara threw a leg over her body to slowly stand. She was precisely zero percent certain that Kara subtly rolled her hips against Lena before standing up and that it was not in fact a lust-driven hallucination.

“Back in a sec,” Kara said as she hopped up and disappeared into the bedroom. She reappeared roughly one second later holding a large rectangular present wrapped in typically festive paper. It had to be at least four feet wide and three feet tall. Kara beamed at her.

“Where have you been hiding that? Is this apartment secretly bigger than mine?” Lena laughed.

“I still have a few secrets my dear,” Kara smirked before setting it down and helping Lena to her feet.

“And I look forward to finding out what they are, darling,” Lena said and suddenly wondered what those secrets might be when Kara began to blush.

“Well, why don't you open your present and find out what one of them is?” Kara attempted to change the subject which Lena decided to let happen. Kara picked it up and moved it over to her easel in the corner of the room before stepping aside for Lena.

Lena decided to be just a little bit of a brat. She slowly, methodically, intentionally removed each individual piece of tape on the entire present before she even considered starting to open it. When she balled up the bits of tape and turned to walk over to the trashcan in the kitchen Kara had had enough.

“Oh come on!” Kara whined. “I know you're doing that on purpose.”

“I do everything on purpose,” Lena smirked. Then swatted Kara's ass as she walked by, drawing a surprised yelp from the blonde. When she got back she began to carefully remove the paper without looking at the present. She began to turn her back while folding the sheet of wrapping paper to set it aside.

“Lena!” Kara shriek and darted over to her. She tore the paper out of Lena's hands and ripped it into confetti. “Are you quite done being a brat?”

“You are so easy, darling.” Lena giggled as she turned back to the easel. “Oh Kara! It's lov-… wait.”

It was a painting of rolling hills, covered in wildflowers, and a tree that tickled something at the back of Lena's mind. As that feeling coalesced Lena felt tears begin to gather and a lump started to form in her throat.

“I-i-is that...is th-that...is that my...” Lena tried. She felt Kara's arms wrap around her waist from behind.

“When you took that business trip to Japan in the spring I took a few days off and flew to Ireland. Took me a little while to find where you were born. Then a few days to paint this.” Kara whispered. “I hope that's ok?”

Lena spun in Kara's arms, grabbed her face, and kissed her. “I love y- _it!_ I love it. This is the most amazing thing anybody has ever done for me.” Lena said with tears streaming down her face. “I haven't been back since Lionel came to get me. After everything… with… If you would want to go with me I think I'd like to try. Maybe in the spring?”

“Of course. I'd go anywhere you asked.” Kara smiled at her. And then she yawned. “And right now I'm kinda hoping you ask me to go to bed.”

Lena's heart fluttered at Kara's phrasing. But knowing full well that was not how Kara meant it she just leaned forward and gave Kara a light kiss. “Of course, darling. Let's get some sleep. Ireland will still be there in the morning.”

* * *

Lena found herself a bit grateful that the last Movie Night before Christmas was going to be at Sam and Alex's house. As much as she was very much enjoying getting to lounge on the couch and make out with Kara as often as she pleased she had to be honest, her body's response to laying down on the couch in Kara's apartment was becoming downright Pavlovian. And the urge to slot her leg between Kara's, or start grinding herself against any part of Kara she could reach was nearly undeniable. And the number of times she had her hand up Kara's shirt halfway to her chest before she realized what she was doing and moved it back to Kara's hip was frankly embarrassing. That was not something she wanted to have to deal with in front of her family.

“So, how's the wife?” Sam said without preamble one afternoon.

“Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?” Lena looked up to find Sam standing in her office without a single scrap of paperwork that needed a signature or approval. “Are you honestly _just_ here to pester me?”

“Obviously,” Sam smirked as she dropped into the chair at Lena's desk. “Any progress to report?”

Lena glared, but she felt her face heating up.

“That blush is a screaming yes.” Sam leaned forward eager for the news.

“Don't you have a job you should be doing?”

“Yeah, but I know the boss. She lets me get away with murder.”

“She won't if you don't get back to your desk and quit bugging her.”

“Like you would ever fire your future sister-in-law,” Sam smirked as she lounged back in her chair.

Lena, meanwhile, choked on air. Before shooting an urgent _“SHHHH!”_ at Sam while flapping her hands at her.

Sam just rolled her eyes. “Who do think is going to hear us, alone, in your office? Besides, who do you think you are keeping that secret from? You know you love Kara. I know you love Kara. Jess knows you love Kara. Anybody bugging your office knows you love Kara. _Hope_ knows you love Kara. Everybody knows you love Kara. Except maybe Kara, and after this whole mistletoe thing I'm not entirely sure about that anymore. So what has she done now?”

“A new bit over the couch and we've been making out like a couple of middle schoolers who just discovered kissing.” Lena sighed. “And it's driving me crazy.”

“When you get home just walk up to her and say 'Kara I want to bone' and then _do it_ you chicken.”

“Bone? I take it back. _You_ are the middle schooler around here.” Lena chuckled.

“So you still aren't going to do anything about it?” Sam raised an eyebrow mirroring Lena's usual move.

“I told you. I'm not going to do anything to upset whatever Kara is doing. I want this to last as long as possible.”

“And what if 'as long as possible' could be the rest of your life if you would just _tell her already_. Maybe this is your shot. Maybe she is trying to figure out how you feel. And if you don't do anything about it everything will go back to how it's always been with you two fawning all over each other and acting like you're already a couple but without any of the fun bedroom parts. And me listening to you bitch and moan all day about how much you love her and just wish she loved you back.”

Lena pointed at Sam in the way she always did just before she completely dismantled someone over a conference table. And then… she just deflated. Sam was right and they both knew it. She had been in love with Kara for so long it felt like her heart had just been waiting her entire life to meet the perky blonde walking ray of sunshine. But she was scared. She'd never had any real examples of what a healthy romantic relationship looked like growing up. She'd never really had much in the way of relationships of her own at all. She dated, sure. But most times it ended up either being an anonymous fling when she was away on a business trip or someone who wanted the brass ring of getting to fuck a Luthor and live to tell the tale. She'd never had anyone like Kara in her life, let alone someone she wanted to be with like that. The house in the suburbs, the white picket fence, the pets, the two point five kids, the PTA meetings, the science fairs, all of it. But she had always convinced herself that just being friends was enough, and far more than she deserved. And trying for anything more was too much of a risk of losing what she had.

Lena shrank back into her seat. “Do you really think so?”

The sight nearly broke Sam. In all the years they had known each other she had never seen Lena look this scared, this small, this _vulnerable_.

“Yes I do. And have for a long time.” Sam said gently. “But you obviously aren't convinced. So aside from all the kissy stuff, which would be more than enough of a sign for anybody besides my overly neurotic, surprisingly insecure, needlessly self-loathing best friend, has she done anything else recently that to a normal person might indicate that she likes you in a romantic way?”

“How the hell would I know that? As you are so fond of pointing out, I'm not a normal person.” Lena said, a hint of a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Has she done anything out of the ordinary since this whole thing started? Or more out of the ordinary than usual for Kara anyway.” Sam grinned when Lena actually laughed.

“Um...well despite the fact that I had already been staying there nearly every night since Thanksgiving Kara went out of her way to specifically invite me over to help her decorate.” Lena started.

Sam nodded and gestured for her to go on.

“And she has been giving me Christmas presents already. But I mean it's Kara. She's always excited to give people presents.”

“Yeah, that's the kind of person Kara is. But she hasn't given me anything early this year. Alex and Ruby haven't gotten any early presents either.” Sam pointed out. “What kind of things has she given you so far?”

“The night we decorated she made me dinner.”

“And you survived?” Sam chuckled.

“She told me she had been taking cooking classes in secret for months so she could make dinner for me.”

Sam's eye twitched but she motioned for Lena to continue.

“And then, because they had only just started the section on baking so she will be able to make edible Christmas cookies this year, she had flown to Paris and got tiramisu from Jean-Pierre's for dessert. Oh, and you would not believe how good her desserts have gotten. They aren't great yet by objective standards, but from where she started she has gotten so good in just a few weeks. I am so proud of her. I should have her make something to bring to Movie Night. You guys are going to be so impressed.”

Sam resisted the urge to groan in frustration. “Anything else?”

“She painted a picture for me. I'm thinking about hanging it in here over the sofa.”

“That's sweet. What is it of?”

“Remember that trip we took to Japan in the spring?”

“Yeeeeah?” Sam was confused what that had to do with it. But she was also confused how someone so smart could be so fucking stupid.

“Kara took a few days off while we were out of town. She flew to Ireland. Found where I was born and then spent several days painting a picture of the hills where I used to play outside of town when I was little.”

Sam sat in stunned silence for several seconds. “Anything _else?”_

“No. That's all so far.” Lena said as she stared off into space.

 _You absolute dumbass_ Sam struggled to keep herself from saying out loud. Instead, she just dropped her head to the surface of Lena's desk with an audible thud.

“What?” Lena's head snapped around at the sound.

“Lena. You are my best friend in the whole world, besides Alex. And I love you. But for one of the smartest humans on the planet you are an absolute dumbass.” Sam groaned without lifting her head. _So much for keeping that one in my head._

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Tell her.” Sam stood up and turned to leave.

Lena made a sound that could have been the beginning of an objection, until Sam shot her a look.

“Tell her,” Sam said with an air of finality. “So are you going to need a ride to our place for Movie Night or are you going to pick up your wife from work?”

Lena rolled her eyes and gave Sam the finger.

“Ok. I'll see you both tomorrow night, McNugget.”

“Sometimes I really hate you.”

“Love you too,” Sam called as she walked out the door.

A few moments later Lena heard Jess's voice sounding very annoyed but she couldn't make out what she was saying. She assumed Sam was filling her in. She picked up her phone and typed out a quick text.

**[Lena]** Leave my secretary out of this Samantha.

 **[Sam]** She thinks you're a dumbass too.

 **[Lena]** You're both fired.

Lena heard laughter from the hall and smiled as she put her phone away.

* * *

Lena walked into Kara's apartment to the smell of something chocolate baking and the sight of Kara dancing around the kitchen to some song Lena didn't recognize. The words _I love you Kara Danvers_ nearly bubbled up out of her throat right then and there. And then her stomach growled. Kara spun around and the smile that spread across her lips nearly made Lena's heart stop beating.

“That smells amazing.” Lena finally managed after Kara rushed over and hugged her.

“Welcome home.” Kara smiled, and Lena nearly melted at how right it sounded. “Sounds like you're already hungry.”

“Yeah, I am. Almost ready to go?”

“Not exactly. The last batch of cupcakes has about 10 minutes.” Kara watched a look pass over Lena's face, it was a look Kara had become very familiar with over the years. It was the look Lena made when she wanted something that was beyond her control. The look for when a normal person would whine, but _Luthors don't whine_. “But! I have some for us to try to make sure Alex won't make fun of me too much.”

Kara giggled as Lena perked up and smiled. She leaned forward and kissed Lena before turning back to the kitchen. When she came back she was holding a cupcake that Lena would have sworn was store-bought from the look of it.

“Wow,” Lena said as she looked it over. Kara had improved so much in the last three weeks. “What kind is it?”

“Marble.” Kara beamed.

“You might want to be a bit more specific if you don't want Alex making a crack about your desserts used to just be as hard as rocks, now you're just serving up rock and calling it a cupcake.” Lena laughed.

“Hey!” Kara giggled. “But that is totally something Alex would say. It's almost like you know her.”

Lena unwrapped her cupcake marveling at the swirls of color that still looked store-bought. When she took a bite she made a sound that she honestly wished Kara would pull from her using something other than food.

“Is that dark chocolate and french vanilla?” Lena said once she finally swallowed.

“Yup.” Kara puffed up with pride.

“These are incredible. I am so proud of you darling.” Lena said before devouring the rest of the cupcake.

Kara turned her back to get a cupcake for herself before Lena could notice how badly she was blushing.

Once they had finished Lena began placing all of the finished cupcakes in a container for the drive while Kara took the last batch out of the oven and covered them in frosting. The fact that Lena set up at the table in her seat had nothing to do with the mistletoe still hanging there, or the several detours Kara made to kiss her while working. It was entirely to leave the kitchen island free so Kara had space to work. That was all.

Once they finished and Kara demanded Lena change out of her work clothes and into something far more comfortable to snuggle against before they left for Alex and Sam's house for Movie Night.

“Be honest,” Alex said after her third cupcake. “You bought these didn't you?”

“Nope. I was there when the last two trays came out of the oven at home.” Lena said before Kara could mount a defense Alex would dismiss entirely out of older sibling privilege.

Sam smirked at Lena calling Kara's apartment 'home' again without noticing.

“And Lena also bought a label maker and labeled all the containers so I shouldn't mix up the sugar and the salt again.” Kara looked up at Lena with possibly the most obvious heart-eyes Sam had ever seen. With the possible exception of literally every single time Lena ever looked at Kara.

Alex shuddered at the memories of the multiple times that particular mistake had been made.

“Thank you for that Lena,” Alex said before she took another bite of her cupcake.

Lena nodded before finishing the last of the wine in her glass.

“I'm going to get a refill. Do you want anything love?” Lena said softly to Kara.

“I think I'm good for now,” Kara said as she shifted to let Lena get up.

Lena shifted to get up. But she turned to Kara, placed a single finger under her chin, tilted her head up, and placed a kiss directly on Kara's lips. Then Lena slipped off the couch and disappeared into the kitchen.

Alex stared at the hallway to the kitchen, jaw hanging open, eyes bugged out to the point they threatened to pop out of her head.

Sam just chuckled and sighed, “Idiots.”

Alex spun around to face her wife. She started to gesture towards the kitchen and Kara until Sam grabbed her wrists and placed her hands on her lap. Alex tried to speak but Sam clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered, “Leave it alone, hon.” Alex huffed and sunk down into her seat snuggling into Sam's side.

Ruby, meanwhile, was literally vibrating with excitement and floating an inch above the surface of her seat, with both hands clamped over her mouth to keep from squealing.

Kara, on the other hand, was completely unaware anything else was going on. She was engrossed in the movie and waiting for Lena to come back. Which Lena did a few moments later. She set down her glass of wine and handed Kara another cupcake. Kara made a joyful noise, trying not to disturb the others watching the movie (all of whom had stopped paying attention to the movie and were instead trying to subtly watch Kara and Lena instead), and pulled Lena into another kiss. Lena settled back into her seat and Kara snuggled back into her arms, neither of them aware they were now the sole focus of attention.

“What the fuck was that about?” Alex demanded after Lena and Kara were at least halfway across town and Kara most likely wouldn't accidentally overhear them.

“Kara is in love with Lena!” Ruby supersped out of her bedroom before Sam could answer.

“And water is wet. Tell me something I don't know.” Alex rolled her eyes.

“Kara has been hanging mistletoe all over her apartment to figure out if Lena loves her too.” Ruby bounced around the kitchen.

“That's what _I_ figured was going on. How did _you_ know that's what's going on?” Sam gave her daughter a look.

“I sorta helped her come up with the plan.” Ruby shrank under her mom's scrutiny.

“Exactly how much of this plan did you help her come up with?” The look on Sam's face was somewhere between concerned and angry.

“Um, the kiss on the cheek by the fridge. The light peck by the front door. And, uh, the real kiss at the dinner table.” Ruby said cautiously.

“And that's _all_ you came up with?”

“Yes. I swear.” Ruby held up a hand and crossed her heart with the other.

“Oh thank god.” Sam sighed.

“Do I even want to know what _that_ was all about?” Alex said looking between them.

“Based on your reaction to two innocent kisses earlier? No, you _really_ don't.” Sam smirked.

“Fine.” Alex shuddered. “So how did you find out this was going on?”

“I saw Kara kiss Lena a couple of times before you guys got to their place before the last movie night.” Sam started. “That's when Lena told me what was going on. And she has been freaking out ever since because she has convinced herself this is some weird game Kara is playing and once Christmas is over and the decorations get put away it's going to stop. So she is refusing to say anything to Kara about it because she wants to let Kara keep kissing her for as long as possible.”

“Is she aware that if she just told Kara that she's been in love with her for years then Kara would keep kissing her pretty much forever?” Alex struggled to get the statement out still being wildly uncomfortable discussing the physical details of her sister's love life. “With the added bonus being that we wouldn't have to listen to them whining all the time.”

“That's what I told her. But she is being a stubborn little shit like she always is.” Sam grumbled. She heard Ruby giggle, reached into her pocket, pulled out a dollar bill, balled it up, and threw it in the direction of the swear jar on top of the fridge. She didn't bother to see if it made it or not. “And that's not even counting all the other stuff she said Kara has done.”

“Like what?” Alex asked. “Wait! Is this more stuff I don't want to hear?”

“It's not like that. It's a bunch of sappy, super romantic stuff that if I had done for you we would have gotten married a _lot_ sooner.” Sam smiled.

“Ohohoh! She didn't tell me any of that. What did she do?” Ruby started bouncing again with excitement.

“Kara has been taking cooking classes so she could make dinner for Lena. She flew to Paris to get tiramisu from Lena's favorite place in the whole world for dessert for that meal she made. The cooking classes also have a baking section.” Sam listed off.

“So _that's_ why we aren't in the ER having our stomachs pumped from the cupcakes?” Alex smirked.

“Anyway.” Sam continued. “The last thing Lena told me Kara did was this really sweet painting Kara did.”

“What was it?” Ruby was again floating several inches off the ground.

“When Lena and I went to Japan for business in the spring Kara flew to Ireland, found where Lena was born, and painted a picture of it.”

The squeal Ruby let out left human hearing range in about a second. Before Sam could tell her to shut up Alex's phone chimed with a text.

**[Kara]** What the heck was that? Is everything ok?

 **[Alex]** Everything is fine. Ruby just saw a cute cat video.

“Put a lid on it Rubes,” Alex said holding up her phone. “Kara heard you all the way across town.”

Just then Ruby's phone chimed from the other room. She supersped to check it. “Alex? Why is Kara asking me for a link to a cat video?”

* * *

Lena had been enjoying lounging around for a few days. One of the changes she had made after she had taken over the company (after an offhand comment from Kara) was giving everyone companywide two weeks off for the holidays at full pay without any cost to their vacation and paid time off. As it turned out many of the distinctly un-Luthor-like changes Lena made like that, nearly all either comments made by Kara or just her influence letting Lena experience life like a normal person in the world, greatly improved morale and productivity within the company entirely as a side effect. And as Lena enjoyed her fourth day in a row without having to put on work clothes she once again appreciated (nearly) every aspect of having Kara in her life. The cold showers were still annoying as hell.

Lena lazily picked up her phone when her text alert went off.

**[My asshole best friend]** Happy xmas eve eve, McNugget.

 **[Lena]** 1\. That's not a thing Sam.

 **[Lena]** 2\. Fuck you. I'm not chicken.

 **[My asshole best friend]** 1\. The day before xmas is called xmas eve. So the day before xmas eve is xmas eve eve. Deal with it.

 **[My asshole best friend]** 2\. If you haven't told her yet you are chicken. :P

Her conversation was interrupted by the woman they were talking about placing a tender kiss on Lena's lips.

“Is that Sam?” Kara asked once she had pulled away.

“Yeah. Just being a pain in my ass like usual.” Lena chuckled.

“Well, I'm hungry.” Kara started.

“When are you not hungry, darling?” Lena smiled as Kara laughed.

“I was going to say I'm hungry so why don't you ask Sam if the three of them want to meet us somewhere for lunch,” Kara said. “Not that I'm complaining, but even on the Supergirl front things have been quiet this week and I want to get out of the house for a bit.”

“Tired of me already?” Lena let out a melodramatic gasp.

“Not even a little bit,” Kara said as she kissed Lena again. “Just a little tired of the same four walls. Call it cabin fever.”

“As long as you are with me I don't think I could get tired of anywhere, love.” Lena said, realizing too late that she was being a little too honest when she saw Kara blush. “But I would love to go get something to eat. The fridge is a bit barren since we've been making space for Christmas dinner leftovers.”

“You are the greatest human being I have ever met,” Kara said giving Lena another not so quick kiss before disappearing into the bedroom to put on real clothes.

Lena sat trying to get her heart rate under control along with the heat she felt all over any time Kara complimented her. She jumped when her phone chimed and vibrated in her hand.

**[My asshole best friend]** Hey McNugget. Did you get kidnapped again? Or just making out with the wife?

 **[Lena]** you us lunch meet

 **[My asshole best friend]** Yeah meeting up for lunch sounds good. I'll gather up my girls. Have Kara text us where you guys want to go because communicating with 'so horny for Kara she's stupid Lena' gives me a headache.

 **[Lena]** fuc u

Lena and Kara walked hand in hand into one of Kara's favorite places in the city. It was a small family-owned Italian restaurant that offered all you can eat pasta, which Lena has secretly invested heavily in after she had discovered Kara and Supergirl were one and the same, along with leaving at least $100 tip no matter what the bill was.

Somehow Sam, Alex, and Ruby had gotten there first. All three of them looked up when the bell over the door rang, then all three of them looked down to Kara and Lena's joined hands then back up at them. Ruby's eyes went wide and she hopped up to dart across the room and hug Kara before dragging her towards the table excitedly whispering. Sam gave Lena a once-over as she walked across the room smirking.

“Nice socks,” Sam whispered as she hugged Lena. “Horny stupid Lena strikes again.”

“What?” Lena pulled back and looked down over her jean-clad legs. She saw one pink sock with kittens on it and one green sock with little cartoon sloths hanging from vines peeking out from her sneakers. “Dammit.”

“I think they are adorable. Kara has good taste in cute socks.” Sam grinned.

Lena just shook her head before making her way to her seat.

* * *

Lena had been sitting in one of the chairs in front of Kara's tv for most of the evening, despite Kara's repeated protests that it was Christmas Eve and she shouldn't be working. She had been struck by inspiration late in the afternoon and had been working on the idea since. Kara's marathon of Christmas movies had been going providing pleasant background noise. She had hardly even looked up when Kara had to leave for a Supergirl call late in the night.

“Be careful, love,” Lena called as Kara sped into her suit.

She was only gone for a few minutes. It turned out some faulty wiring in a set of Christmas lights had caught a tree on fire. Most of the ornaments were ruined and there was some damage to the wall and ceiling, but Kara had managed to get there and put out the fire before most of the presents were much more than singed.

When Kara returned there was just a hint of pine smoke clinging to her hair that as it slowly filled the apartment was finally enough of a distraction for Lena to make a few final notes and close her laptop. She set her computer on the coffee table and sat back into her seat looking for Kara on the couch. When she wasn't there Lena was startled to hear her clear her throat from behind her. Lena looked up expecting to see a pair of beautiful blue eyes staring back at her. What she found instead was a brand new sprig of mistletoe directly above her.

“Oh,” was what Lena had intended to say. A simple statement of surprise. There was _nothing_ simple about the surprise she felt when a pair of lips attached themselves to Lena's now exposed neck right at her pulse point. Or the fact that what ended up coming out of Lena's mouth was a moaning “Oooooooh my god Kara.”

Lena's hand came up and tangled in blonde locks. She felt Kara's lips smile against her neck for just a moment before Kara started sucking at her skin. Lena let loose a groan as her eyes slipped shut. All sense of time ceased. They could have been there for five seconds or five hours, or even five days, when Lena felt Kara start to pull away. Her fingers tightened their grip in Kara's hair and yanked Kara back to her neck. Lena felt the vibrations against her skin more than she heard the sound of Kara's chuckle as she went back to work. Seemingly a moment later she felt one of Kara's hands begin to slip around from the other side of Lena's neck and the other sliding up under the hem of the sweatshirt she was wearing. Kara's fingertips left blazing trails across her skin and the heat prickling across her skin was quickly pooling between her legs. Lena moaned and in that instant she felt all contact stop.

“I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for bed.” Kara smiled as innocent as could be. “Probably won't have time in the morning before Alex, Sam, and Ruby get here and I don't want to smell like smoke over breakfast and opening presents.”

Lena's eyes bugged out as Kara stood to walk away and an incredibly frustrated whine bubbled up from her throat.

Kara leaned back down and whispered in her ear, “I thought Luthors don't whine.”

Lena felt a nip at her earlobe and then Kara vanished in a flurry of giggles.

Lena sat for several minutes not daring to move a muscle. She could only picture two possible outcomes that her body would accept. Either jamming her hand down her pants and getting herself off or storming into the bathroom and demanding Kara finish what she started and fuck her already. Neither of which Lena was willing to risk.

Another several minutes later Lena heard the water shut off. She heard Kara singing as she usually did in the shower, followed a minute later with Kara continuing to sing in a muffled mumbling style that meant she was brushing her teeth. Kara's singing cleared up then a moment later got louder as the door opened. Lena heard bare feet padding across the floor in between the singing Lena couldn't focus on. She felt a light kiss on her cheek.

“Bathroom's all yours. I hope you're ready to go to bed.” Kara said. As she stood back up to walk back into the bedroom Lena's eyes finally moved to watch her. Kara was wrapped in a towel, wet hair hanging down her back, hips swaying as she started to sing picking up the melody that Lena had only half heard before. “I don't want anybody else. When I think about you I touch myself.”

Lena made a strangled sound and stayed planted in her chair until she heard Kara bounce across the bed to her side to settle in for the night. She slowly got to her feet and stood until she felt she would be able to walk steadily across the room. She strode over to the dresser and retrieved the ridiculously Christmas themed PJs Kara had given her the year before with Santa's, reindeer, presents, trees, wreaths, and stockings all over them. She also tried to subtly grab a change of underwear and tucked them into the folds of her PJs before retreating into the bathroom.

Lena leaned against the closed bathroom door until her hands stopped shaking. She glanced at the bathtub before deciding against taking a shower. Even under cold water, she wasn't convinced she would be able to not touch herself. And if that happened there was no way she was going to be able to stay quiet. She decided to just brush her teeth and change, so she set down her PJs and got to work.

She chuckled as she pictured the look of abject horror on Alex's face when she saw the large purple bruise on the side of her neck. But then she looked at the rest of her reflection and the reality of the situation washed back over her. As she stood looking in the mirror she kept mouthing _Kara I love you_ and _Kara I'm in love with you and have been for a long time._ Not even daring to whisper for fear Kara might hear but still managing to spray toothpaste foam on the mirror now and then. She finished brushing her teeth after more than twice as long as usual, even compared to the times she and Kara would be in there together moving around each other as if they had been living together for years instead of weeks but would still get distracted staring at each other more often than not. She quickly changed all of her clothes, tossing the others into the hamper, before turning back to the mirror and taking out her contacts. She stared at the blurry image of herself and just wondered. Maybe this all would be easier if _this_ was all the world could see. Not that it would change that Kara was and would always be wildly out of her league, but maybe if she didn't have a famous face or an infamous last name she could be with Kara. If she could be just an ordinary average woman that wouldn't cause people to wonder what she saw in someone like CatCo reporter Kara Danvers or what Kara saw in her. Someone that people would see them together and just think 'they make a nice couple'. Someone worthy of Kara. Someone Kara deserved.

Lena grabbed her glasses off the counter and headed out to the bedroom. She pulled the door open and flipped off the lights. In the last second before the bathroom lights went out Lena saw a flash of color in the air above the bed. She slipped on her glasses and focused on a strip of metallic ribbon hanging from the ceiling holding another bit of mistletoe. She began moving around the nightstand on her side of the bed.

“Kara, love, I think we need to hav-” Lena's body and brain both froze as she moved around the large lampshade on her nightstand and her eyes fell on the bed.

Kara was laying across the center of the bed. Her hair was dry and slightly curled draped over one of her shoulders. She hadn't bothered to put her glasses on, she rarely did when they were at home alone since Lena had found out they were unnecessary. But she had stained her lips with Lena's signature shade of red. She was wearing a royal blue teddy with deep red lace accents and stitching. An almost gold colored garter belt sat low on her hips and was clipped to a red and blue pair of fishnets. And to top it off a large green bow was draped over her waist.

“I had one more present I thought you might want to unwrap tonight while we were still alone,” Kara said, her voice the slightest bit shaky.

Lena stood stock still, unable to even blink as every synapse in her brain misfired at once. She groped for even a single solitary word in any language she knew that she associated with Kara. Love, life, joy, pride, strength, power, lust, marriage, happiness, forever, _yes_. All of them and thousands more alluded her grasp as her mind tried desperately to function again. After what seemed like all of eternity a single neural connection was made, her mind found a word that it connected to Kara and sent it like a lightning bolt to Lena's throat where it bubbled up before Lena even realized she could speak again.

“Golly.”


End file.
